Close To Forever
by Wind And Tides
Summary: "Close to losing you, forever...". Katara and Zuko had met up with Sokka and the others, but Aang's missing. They go to the battle-field to search for him, but even Toph can't find him. Kataang/Kataangst, minor Taang and Sukka. rated T for violence.


PLEASE READ!: ONESHOT (I like to change some of the main storyline, as I have already, once.) The story takes place after Zuko and Katara defeated Azula. Now, instead of Sokka, Suki and Toph going after Aang, they went to see Katara and Zuko. So, they never knew that Aang beat the Firelord, less that he was alive. No, there is NO Zutara, kiddies, and never will. ;P Just Kataangst and slight Taang. Minor Sukka.

Please review, I really appreciate that! ^.^

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><p><strong>- I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender<strong>

Sokka, Toph and Suki had picked Katara and Zuko up from the palace, to go search for the Avatar. They had gone on Appa, since the Battleship wasn't working, after Sokka crashed it onto the ground. So, they had landed and now were searching for _him_.

As soon as they landed, Katara jumped off the bison, and went running. Others took a glance around the scarred area. Sokka's face saddened, and he looked at Suki, making her sad, aswell.

Zuko spoke, "Toph, see if you can locate Aang." Toph looked up, "Allright." she said, almost casually, and jumped off the saddle. She touched the ground, placing her hand in every direction. The other three got off, and waited for her comment.

Her face got worried and scared, something no-one expected to see. She kept on 'looking' with her fingers. _This can't be good,_ they all thought. Toph sighed, and stood up.

"I can't find him..." she said, sadly. But, with a different meaning. "What do you mean? You could find anyone, right?" Sokka exclaimed, not believing what the earthbender told him. "Yes, any_one_. I can only locate people with their heartbeats," she explained, crossing her arms, keeping her head down.

"And if Katara's heart isn't the only one beating over there, like a wild-chop...," she closed her blind eyes. The trio had worried looks, knowing what she know meant.

Katara was running through the battleground, "Aang? Aang, where are you?" she shouted, hoping for any kind of a response. There was water, shattered ground and burned marks scattered everywhere, as a sign of a great battle.

There was some blood circling around small water-pools, whcih frightened Katara. She was afraid of the worst, but tried to keep positive. "Aang?" her sad calls echoed through the land. No response.

They stood in silence. Until Suki sparked up, "How loud should the hearbeats be, and, would other things disturb it?" she asked. The Blind Bandit turned her head to the Warrior, a little less sad, "Well, they _should_ be normal like yours, then I could feel them... And yes, some things _do _get on the way of my senses..." she answered.

"Then this means we still have hope. He might still be here, _alive_." Zuko commented. Toph nodded. "Then let's see if we can find him, if we look closer." Sokka said, and everyone started following Toph, as she concentraded on finding the certain heartbeat.

Katara had been running for quite a while, her eyes almost teary. She tried not to look at the horrible scars on the ground, most of them covered in small amounts of blood. They only frightened her more, making her run faster and yell louder for him. "Aang!" came another echoing call. No response.

Toph crouched down for the fifth time, placing her hand on the ground, searching even for the tiniest bump. The trio behind her had only gotten more worried and scared, but never made a sound to disturb the earthbender.

She squinted her eyes, thinking that she picked something up. She scratched the ground, and placed her hand on it again, making sure she wasn't mistaking.

"...I found him...," she said, quietly, yet happily. "W-Wha-," Sokka started, "I found him! He's right over there!" Toph exclaimed. The three didn't know why she was so happy, they thought maybe she actually _cared_ too, now.

Toph had pointed to the fallen rock-pillar, further away, signaling that Aang's there. They all ran to it, and started digging, until Toph came and bended some of the larger chunks away. A few seconds passed, and she found something soft instead of a rock. She quickly grabbed it, but let go as soon as half of the body was out.

"Ozai...," Zuko said. Everyone looked confused and angry. He was covered in blood, scratches and bruises, lying on the ground, now. He opened his eyes and saw the children. They backed away, but saw that he was unable to move, probably from the broken bones.

"Where's Aang? What did you do to him?" Sokka puted, gringing his teeth. The ex-Firelord started laughing, an evil kind of way. All of their faces filled with fright. Toph then took a chunk of large rock from the fallen pillar, and made it float on top of Ozai's head, as a threat. but he kept laughing.

"Toph, you said you found _Aang_, not him." Suki said, angry at the laughing psycho. "But I _did_!" the earthbender argued back. "I swear, _that_ was Twinkle-Toes's light heartbeat!" she finished. Then, stopped, and listened. She threw the rock away and turned her head to the pillar.

"Aang?"

Katara had stopped running, gasping for air. She had been waterbending some of the broken pillars, hoping to find the Avatar lying underneath one of them, with no luck. Images of him being cut in half, bloody, broken, dead and many other variances ran through her mind, as she tried her best not to close her eyes for another one. Suddenly, she heard her brother call from a few meters away.

"Katara! We found him! But, you're not going to like this...," she didn't hear the last part. She just ran at full speed where the voice came from, her heart full of hope, again. But the fear and sadness didn't leave.

Katara stopped behind her friends, looking at them for anything that could mean they _did_ find him. She saw that Toph was sitting much further away, her face blank, and a single tear running through her cheek. Suki, having her face full of worry, held her hand on Sokka's shoulder, who had his face locked onto Katara. Zuko, looking at his father, with anger.

She then eyed on the pile of rocks, and went closer. There he was, lying, bloody, having multible bruises around his body, his eyes closed and mouth half-open. He looked dead.

Katara felt tears running like waterfalls, now. She crawled to him, and held him tightly, moving her hands around his body, looking for the biggest scar- to heal it. She bent some water out of her pouch, and placed it onto one of Aang's wounds. She started to heal, while she cried, hoping desperately that he would wake up.

He stirred, opening his eyes, a little. Katara gasped, and grabbed onto him, hugging, still crying. "Oh, Aang...," she whispered. He groaned, in pain, and she quickly stopped strangling him. Her face was still sad, seeing him in this condition.

"Kah..tah...rah?" he asked, almost even too quielty for her to hear. She nodded, "Yes, it's me. You're gonna be okay, Aang, don't worry," she said, brushing his face, as she still kept crying. He shook his head, making her scared.

"I... I took his bending... away... He can't... hurt... anyone...ughh...," he sighed and breathed heavily. Katara, and everyone else (besides the Firelord) felt proud and surprised. But the weak breaths of him, struggling to keep his lungs working, frightened Katara.

She took some more water, and was about to place it onto one of Aang's wound, but he slowly brushed her hand away. "Aang, stop it, I have to heal you, or you're gonna...," she didn't want to finish. He shook his head again. "There's...no use... I-I... Ughhh... I have to... go... now...," he said. It was her turn to shook her head, as more tears came. "No, no Aang, y-you're not going to-to-," she tried to comfort him and aswell herself. He silenced her, by sighing heavily.

He closed his eyes.

"Aang?" she asked, scared. "Aang! No!" she started panicking. She quickly lifted his head up, getting it closer to her. "No, no... Aang!" she cried. _It's now or never..._ "Aang, you can't leave me!" she cried out, again.

"I... I love you, Aang..." she then whispered, and placed her lips on his cold ones. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and happiness rising, but the terror of him not doing anything back vanished them. She kissed deeper, placing her hand on the back of his head, pulling him closer. She was fierce, and it would've shocked Aang, if he would be living.

After a few moments, she slowly pulled back, looking at his face. Nothing. She cried out loud, hugging him closer. She couldn't believe that he was gone. Her love, her hope, her Aang, now dead. And she couldn't even tell her feelings for him, after that terrible night of rejection. Everyone closed their eyes, and listened to the waterbender's sad, echoing cries to the sunset. _The Avatar has fallen..._

Aang woke up, seeing that he was in space. He looked around him, trying to figure out where excactly he is. Suddenly, a purple cloud formed into someone he knew.

"Roku?" he questioned. As the form had been made, the figure spoke, "Greetings, young Avatar." it said. Aang bowed.

"Roku, where am I? What happened?" Aang asked. "You're in the Sanctuary Of The Dead, Aang, You died." he answered. Aang's face went full of fright.

"I'm... dead?" he repeated. The spirit nodded. His face saddened, and he looked down.

"Aang," Roku started. He looked up.

"I have an important task for you," he lstened closely. "The World still needs an Avatar. Even though you defeated the Firelord, the chaos would still cross around the land, and the Fire Nation would start another war. And the rebirth of the Avatar would take too long, too long to master the elements before the Fire Nation could end what's already dying." Roku said,

"You must return back to life, and restore balance, before the Fire Nation could make new decisions." he finished. Aang felt a smile creeping onto his face.

"But, young Avatar, you must remember; this is the only chance of getting your life back. I spoke to the Death Spirit, and he only gave you this one." he said. Aang got confused. "The Death Spirit? Why would he do that?"

"Because, Aang, The Death Spirit couldn't handle the amount of deaths and suicides that could be made in the next years, if you were gone." Roku explained.

Aang understood, and made a promise that he wouldn't let anyone down, again. "Thank you, Roku." he said, smiling, yet serious.

"Until we meet again, Aang, goodbye." The figure faded, and Aang's saw that he was falling to Earth, literally.

Katara was sobbing, some tears still falling. She's very tired, but held onto the dead body, not wanting to imagine the future. She didn't want to live without him, she swore she would make a suicide, if she would have to. Ofcourse, it was reckless thinking, but her heart wanted her to think like that. She wanted it to feel like that- foolishly in love.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, but didn't turn her head. "Katara..." the voice started. It was sad, yet comforting. She clutched onto the body, not wanting to leave it. "Listen, you have to know this..." he continued, "... Even though Aang's gone, _we're_ gonna be here for you." he finished. They all came and hugged her, in a group-hug.

_But I want Aang to be here..._ Katara whined in her mind. She didn't ant anyone else's arms around her, but Aang's. They stayed wuiet for a while, each one of them in the sorrow and sadness.

Suddenly, the body's arrows shined up, and a silent moan came. They looked at him, gasping. Katara's eyes were the widest, and the most surprised. Aang made a sad smile to her, which melted her heart, again. She smiled wider, and hugged him closer, crying the tears of happiness. "Oh, Aang... You came back...You came back to me..." she said, her heart filling joy and happiness. "Thanks the Spirits, Ohh..." she whispered.

"Hey, save some for the rest of us!" Toph joked, and hugged the two. So did Sokka, Suki and Zuko, too. "Welcome back, Twinkle-Toes, you had Sugar Queen pretty darn worried." Toph laughed, and so did everyone else. Katara blushed.

"Well, it's good to be back, too." Aang said, normally now, that he had recovered. He stood up, making everyone else back away. Katara felt sad again, as his body left her arms. She wanted to be close to him, again, to touch his face, again, and to kiss him, again. But he stoof up and stretched, still groaning a little, tiredly.

"Well, we better get your loser-butt in jail, now." Toph grunted at the now sleeping 'Loserlord'. She and Zuko got him up (clumsily) and dragged him to Appa, while Toph made insulting remarks to him.

"Well, I better get moving too, can't let those two go runnin', y'know?" Sokka said, trying to sound adult and responsible. Suki giggled and helped him follow the two, while he made comments on how _amazingly_ he took down the ships.

Katara and Aang were left standing there, with Katara blushing. Aang looked back at her, smiling, "So, let's not get left behind." he said, and she looked up. He turned his head to where his friends went, and started walking. Katara quickly grabbed his arm, "Wait..." she said, shyly. "Hmm? What is it, Katara?" Aang asked, confused.

"Umm... D-Do you remember anything... B-before you 'left'?" he asked, quietly and hopeful. Aang tried to remember for a minute, then looked at her "Erm... If it wasn't you trying to heal me, then no. Should I know something?" he answered, still confused.

Katara felt her heart break, _He was already gone when I kissed him..._ she said to herself. Her face saddened, and she looked down. Aang got worried, and went to her. "Katara, are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked, his face sad, aswell. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. He crept closer to her, putting a comfroting hand to her shoulder.

"Aang," she started, he listened up, "Look, I'm so, _so_ sorry for what happened at that stupid play..." she started. His face went sad, and serious.

"...You were opening your heart to me, and-and I was only hurting you," she kept on going, starting to sob. He rubbed her back, trying to comfort her, "Katara, it's oka-" he started "No! It's not okay... You see, I rejected you so badly... I thought our friendship had g-gone, a-and I-I...Ughh!" she panicked and started to cry, holding her arms on her face.

Aang hugged her, rubbing her back, and playing with her hair, trying his best to calm her. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Katara, I already forgave you." he said, calmly, yet sad. She perked up, looking at him.

"...W-What? That easily?" She asked, amazed. "Ofcourse. I couldn't stay angry at you for too long... Besides, I undertood... Sorry," he said.

"Oh, Aang, no-no, you don't understand." she said, putting her hands to his face, while he kept his hands on her shoulders.

"I only said that to protect you... I thought that if we got together, then you would worry too much about my condition, instead of yours, when you're fighting Ozai... And I don't want you to get hurt, because of me." she explained. She looked straight into his stormy-grey eyes, filled with surprise. "And, the thing I did before, was-was..." she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and headed down. She kissed him, just as fiercely as before.

He was amazed, shocked and suddenly, breathless. She stirred her lips on his, begging him to react back. He did. He responded back by moving his head more sideways, and putting his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. They both felt butterflies in their stomachs, as they had a match with their tongues. They flet like flying.

She pulled away when the need for air came, and rested her forehead on his. Yes, he _was_ shorter than her, but Katara only liked that. They hugged. Then, she spoke, "And, I did something, else, too...I said-" She embraced him close, and whispered;

"I love you, Aang."

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><p>Team Avatar: Awww!~ :3<p>

Katara & Aang: *blushes* ^/^

Me: I know! I added a nice touch at the end, didn't I? ^o^

Sokka: WHAT? MY BABY SISTER KISSED THE AVATAR, AND I DIDN'T REACT? :O

Me: Well, uhh, I thought you'd be an understanding brother- ^.^"

Sokka: *grabs his boomerang and runs after WindAndTides* YOU SHALL PAAAAY! D:

Me: Oh gawd no *runs away for dear life* o.o"

Katara: Well, I sure liked the end. *wink* :3

Toph: Yeah, let's just hope that she won't get it too far... :P

Everyone Else: O.O"

OH LOL.

Please reviewww! ^.^

~ Wind And Tides


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